Anyone usin’ the Sennheiser HD800?

[b3n]

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[b3n]

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[jdandy]

b3n.......I really don't care what the HD800 is made of. They could use fossilized bat wings for drivers, who cares. It's the sound I care about. I personally have not auditioned the HD800 yet, but plan to do so at the first opportunity. Also, I consider light to be a good thing. Having worn headphones daily for over nine years in the broadcast industry, I have a fair idea of what I consider comfortable, and I have an accurate understanding of what good sound is, both from headphones and speakers.

Like speakers, we all have our preferences for what is considered enjoyable sound. Trying to convince someone that your sound is better than their sound is impossible. You are either moved by what you hear, or you are not. No one can be talked into a sound they find less than desirable. It is nothing to lose sleep over, that's for sure. It's just the way it is.

As for the Bling thing, I have often read that word, and more often than not find it used in a derogatory, or insinuating manner that actually expresses jealousy, even if cloaked with smoke and mirrors. Opinions are like.........well you know, and everyone has one. Individual perceptions, or notions are mostly just fleeting thoughts, and are worth about as much as the time it took to forget what you said. Such is life. Thankfully there are different opinions. I couldn't stand it the other way.

[b3n]

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[btf1980]

Originally Posted by b3n

Wow, a hotdog vs. steak analogy - that's a new one. With respect I couldn't disagree with you more. I would rather use a AKG701 or 702 with ALO mods, a PS1000 or RS1. I would agree they're better then the HD600 or 650, but that isn't saying much (I own all of the aforementioned headphones) - hell I'd buy a marklmod'ed Denon before I invest over a grand into those plastic cans(the HD800's remind me of over sized DJ headphones, far too much attention to aesthetics without any performance gain). Paying around 600-700 for the HD800 would be sort of worth it from a performance standpoint, anything more then that is a waste. For reference the HD800's I tired were using the Headroom Micro stack, the Lavry DA11, SR71a, Emmeline II, m902 and EAR HP4 - I preferred the HD800 with the HP4, but given how well it performed with everything else I think I enjoyed the sound of the HP4 more than the Hd800.

I'm not sure what you mean by dynamic headphones - aren't all headphones dynamic (to varying degrees)?

On a side note - I'd recommend a ALO or Grado cable for both the 650's you own and the 800's - they help a lot in cleaning up the muddy bass and sloppy highs.

Well, we all have our opinions. There is no science to this, but I completely disagree with your assessment. I also have owned the RS1, GS1000, AKGK701 and many others.

By dynamic I meant not electrostatics.

[btf1980]

Originally Posted by b3n

They're giant, they're light and use a ton of plastic and I'm not sure why - the build quality isn't what i would expect for a 1400 dollar headphone.

If you're looking to digest a ton of info on the HD800's hit up head-fi.org, it's important to seperate the people that have purchased the HD800s for the bling factor and those that prefer the performance. I'm not saying the above poster is in for the bling factor, i'm just pointing out in headphone circles it comes up pretty often.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the build quality of the HD800. From your description, you would think that it was a one dollar plastic water bottle. A lot of things we use everyday use high grade plastic polymers, from luxury car interiors to the headphones you preferred over the HD800.

Did you spend more than 10 minutes with these headphones?

[Masterlu]

I now have 2 HD800's, yes they are "That Good!"

[btf1980]

Originally Posted by jdandy

btf1980.......Welcome to Audio Aficionado.

Thanks for posting the photos. I have the Sennheiser HD600, used with a HeadAmp Class A headphone amplifier, but have been curious about the HD800. I was pleased to see the side by side photo of the two headphones for size comparison. I am looking forward to auditioning a pair of HD800. Yours are not the only positive comments I have read on the headphones. Perhaps you could give us your impressions of the HD800 as compared to the HD650. How does the sound differ, comfort, fit and finish, weight, cord quality. I much prefer to hear owners comments than published reviewers.

The HD800 is a lot more refined than the HD650. These were built from the ground up, and was not an extension like the HD650 was to the HD600. A lot of people say the HD650 has a veiled presence, I never shared that opinion. They sounded fine to me. Neither do I share the opinion that they have muddy bass. The Denon house sound to me had muddy bass.

The HD800 is very accurate imo. Bass is accurate. Tonality is crisp and clear. I did a lot of listening between the HD650 and HD800 on my PS Audio GCHA and my Zana Deux. The HD800 was far more involving, with more clarity.

In terms of comfort, these are one of the few headphones I can listen to for an extended amount of time, up to 3 hours. This was an issue with my GS1000's, I just could not listen to them for longer than an hour because I did not find them comfortable. They aren't that heavy (but they certainly are not flimsy!), and I know of no one who wants HEAVIER headphones to put on their head. Maybe I run in the bling bling circles that wants functionality since we will be wearing these for hours, instead of something being heavy for the sake of it.

[ruffoc]

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[b3n]

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